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Hybrid silver/silver-oxide nanoparticles doped hole transport layer for efficient photon harvesting in organic solar cells

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Abstract

Plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) are employed in this investigation to assist in the enhancement of photon harvest in organic solar cells (OSCs). OSCs based on the poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) were prepared by incorporating hybrid silver/silver-oxide (Ag/Ag2O) NPs in the commonly used hole transport layer (HTL), PEDOT:PSS, in a conventional device geometry. The conductivity of PEDOT: PSS was improved by 3 wt% Ag/Ag2O NP doping. The optical absorption and aggregation of P3HT in the active layer film were also found to be improved when Ag/Ag2O NPs were incorporated in PEDOT: PSS. Consequently, the power conversion efficiency of the P3HT: PCBM-based OSCs was improved from 3.06 to 5.20% upon the incorporation of 3 wt% Ag/Ag2O in the HTL. This enormous improvement is mainly attributed to a significant increment in JSC due to the synergistic improvement in exciton generation, exciton dissociation, charge collection, and dissociation probability in the device due to localized surface Plasmon resonance and scattering by the NPs.

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Acknowledgements

This work is based on the support from Organization for Women in Science for the developing world (OWSD), Trieste, Italy. We would also like to acknowledge the International Science Program (ISP), Uppsala University, Sweden for providing the laboratory facilities of the polymer physics laboratory at Addis Ababa University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Addis Ababa University, 1176, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Alemayehu G. Waketola, Fekadu G. Hone, Genene T. Mola & Newayemedhin A. Tegegne

  2. Department of Physics, Kotebe University of Education, 31248, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Alemayehu G. Waketola

  3. School of Chemistry and Physics, University of KwaZulu Natal, Pietermaritzburg Campus, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Genene T. Mola & Saheed O. Oseni

  4. Department of Physics, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria

    Saheed O. Oseni

  5. Department of Chemistry, Universities South Africa, Office Hatfields Office Park, 1267, Pretorius Street, Hatfield, Pretoria, South Africa

    Hezron Ogutu

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  1. Alemayehu G. Waketola
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Correspondence to Newayemedhin A. Tegegne.

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339_2022_6349_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Supplementary file1 The absorption of Ag/Ag2O NPs, its crystallographic parameters, The TMM Simulation graph and the SCLC fitting are found in the SI (DOCX 92 KB)

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Waketola, A.G., Hone, F.G., Mola, G.T. et al. Hybrid silver/silver-oxide nanoparticles doped hole transport layer for efficient photon harvesting in organic solar cells. Appl. Phys. A 129, 96 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-022-06349-4

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